If you go down to the woods today
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From: J. Clarke on 1 Nov 2009 20:38 MikeWhy wrote: > "J. Clarke" <jclarke.usenet(a)cox.net> wrote in message > news:hckpc60u3d(a)news5.newsguy.com... >> Sean_Q_ wrote: >>> J. Clarke wrote: >>> >>>> So let's see, someone looking at the grave of their parents a half >>>> a mile from Harvard is supposed to go armed and exercise >>>> situational awareness due to the danger of coyote attack? >>> >>> She was more than half a mile from an Ivy League university, though, >>> it was in a wilderness, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, 950 sq >>> km of mountains, valleys, forests, waterfalls, rocky coastlines and >>> a tundra-like plateau known as the Cape Breton Highlands. [from WP] >> >> And those coyotes are different from the ones living a half a mile >> from Harvard in what way? > > An Ivy league education and undergrad dining halls. Canadian ancestry > rather than US. How many urban maulings by coyotes are on record? The same number as rural.
From: J. Clarke on 1 Nov 2009 20:35 Sean_Q_ wrote: > J. Clarke wrote: > >> And those coyotes are different from the ones living a half a mile >> from Harvard in what way? > > They haven't made headlines. At least not yet. > > Here's a Google Maps aerial view centered on Harvard University, > Cambridge MA at a scale of about 2000 feet to the inch. The region > bounded by a half-mile radius appears to be completely built up into > an urban or at least suburban area. It doesn't even reach the banks > of the Charles River. If there are permanent resident coyotes they > must > be feeding on _something_ -- garbage, stray pets, who knows, > but whatever it is they've arrived at some kind of peaceful > coexistence > with humans or we'd have heard about it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhode2boston/1657959438/ Want me to ride up there and shoot a video walking from that gravestone to the Harvard campus? For more see http://groups.google.com/group/rec.motorcycles/msg/ebb9d9b0b16df13a?hl=en, the earlier post to which I attempted to direct you. Chicago is mostly built up urban area as well, and there are 2000 coyotes in residence. We don't hear about coyotes because they tend not to attack humans, ANYWHERE, but that doesn't mean that they are not present and it doesn't mean that one needs to take special precautions against them in wilderness areas that one does not need to take in urban areas. And they are becoming a nuisance--in some areas they have taken to chasing joggers and bicyclists--so far they don't seem to be catching them but it's a matter of time before there's an incident. You're _far_ more likely to get killed by a bear, feral dog, or for that matter a moose. > <http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=42.365393,-71.104889&spn=0.030123,0.054502&t=h&z=14> What of it? Coyotes don't just live in the woods and haven't for a long time. They'll eat anything a stray cat will eat and the cat as well, and if cats and cat food are in short supply they can live on fruits and vegetables. > Meanwhile here's Cape Breton Highlands National Park. It looks like > an almost total wilderness. I'm no biologist but it seems to me that > coyotes habituated over generations to wilderness are bound to be > different, at least in their habits, and maybe their physique, than > suburban coyotes. Yeah, they aren't used to humans and so are more likely to be afraid of them. > <http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=46.704086,-60.619812&spn=0.447331,0.87204&t=h&z=10> > > I don't know conditions in the park. Maybe game was scarce, the > coyotes > were starving and Ms. Mitchell merely represented 100 lbs of meat. Cape Breton Island has 5 moose per square kilometer, not to mention copious quantities of deer and other wildlife. Game is hardly scarce. It is a dangerous place to ride because of the frequency with which moose cross the road. Coyotes, no matter where they are, don't usually attack people. There was something going on that made those coyotes behave atypically, and whatever it was, it's unlikely that it was any circumstance unique to Cape Breton Island--more likely it's going to turn out that there was something wrong with those particular coyotes.
From: J. Clarke on 1 Nov 2009 20:39 sleazy wrote: > On 2009-11-01 14:57:15 -0500, "J. Clarke" <jclarke.usenet(a)cox.net> > said: > >> sleazy wrote: >>> On 2009-11-01 12:52:11 -0500, Sean_Q_ <no.spam(a)no.spam> said: >>> >>>> sleazy wrote: >>>> >>>>> Gee, big ole mean wild animals bite and maul. Who'da thunk it? >>> <snip> >>>> However my friend who lives at the blueberry farm down there was >>>> threatened by a pack, right near his home. He was walking their >>>> dog, a poodle/maltese/something (a real coyote snack) when 6 of >>>> them >>>> ran right towards him from over the field. Luckily he was close >>>> enough to the house that he had time to grab the dog and make a run >>>> for the porch, a more defensible position because they couldn't >>>> surround him. They were well into his yard when they broke off >>>> the pursuit and retreated. >>>> >>>> * re pigeons -- I made the mistake of feeding one, and right away >>>> all his sisters and his cousins and his aunts figured they were >>>> entitled to a handout too and suddenly I was in the middle >>>> of a scene like Alfred Hitchcock's _The Birds_. >>>> >>>> SQ >>> >>> I've had one close encounter with a feral dog pack back about 20 >>> years ago while pheasant hunting in mid-Michigan. Fortunately, my >>> hunting buddy and I were carrying loaded shotguns and extra shells. >>> There were a few less when they figured out we were not going to >>> roll over and die for them. >>> >>> The only person responsible for keeping you alive is yourself. >>> Always remember that and take whatever precautions you feel >>> necessary. My primary objective is to come home every night in one >>> piece. >> >> Try carrying a loaded shotgun a half a mile from Harvard though and >> you'll be in more danger from the police than from the coyotes. > > If I'm legally carrying in the city, the police ain't gonna see it. > ;p The appropriate tool for the job and all that. If you're legally carrying in Boston your name is Kennedy.
From: Datesfat Chicks on 1 Nov 2009 21:50 "don (Calgary)" <hd.flhr(a)telus.net> wrote in message news:m9ase55ieecjk1cc03lbms716qne5g153p(a)4ax.com... > On Sun, 1 Nov 2009 21:40:54 +0000, totallydeadmailbox(a)yahoo.co.uk (The > Older Gentleman) wrote: > >>Dang, but I've never forgotten that. taught me something, too. Can't >>remember what, but it was important. And I learned something. >>Definitely. > > What an utter tosspot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tosspot http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tosspot Datesfat
From: Chuck Rhode on 1 Nov 2009 23:22
On Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:05:02 +0000, don (Calgary) wrote: > Personally I would much rather encounter a coyote than a loose dog. .... and run the risk of rabies. -- ... Be Seeing You, ... Chuck Rhode, Sheboygan, WI, USA ... Weather: http://LacusVeris.com/WX ... 46° — Wind S 8 mph — Sky mostly cloudy. |